MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH

Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end


  Put in Order
Frequency adverbs: position
Focus Grammar
Description Practise how to put adverbs of frequency in the right place inside the sentence.
Instructions Order these sentences so the adverb of frequency comes in the right position.
 
Items
never / know / I / what to say
 
Place it in mid-position (not at the beginning or the end)
to help me / My parents / come / very often
 
go on holiday / My parents / almost never
 
go / to the dentist / once a year / I / usually
 
you / How / to the disco? / do / often / go
 
Do / you / have lunch / usually / at home?
 
Place it in mid-position (not at the end)
always / win / ? / Kevin / Does
 
shopping / I / day in, day out / have to go
 
Place it in mid-position (not at the beginning or the end)
late / John / is / often
 
I / oranges / eat / hardly ever
 
We / soup / have / every other day
 
three times a week / I / to the gym / go
 
to the gym / ? / every day / you / Do / go
 
at 8 a.m. / always / get up / I
 
in the mornings. / usually / very tired / am / Something is the matter with me. I
 
saw / I / five times / it
 
Place it in mid-position (not at the beginning or the end)
in blue / very often / She / dresses
 
need / I travel a lot. I / some petrol / every other day.
 
Place it in mid-position (not at the end)
feel tired? / you / often / Do
 
is / She / always / asking me questions
 
once a month / usually / I / to the hairdresser's / go
 
Begin the sentence with SHE
listens / when you talk to her / She / rarely
 
Place it in mid-position (not at the beginning or the end)
often / for dinner / Mike / pizza / eats
 
find / can / your car keys / You / never
 
Begin the sentence with YESTERDAY
phoned / twice / me / she / Yesterday,
 
rarely / will / Tom / help you / if you need it
 
Place it in mid-position (not at the beginning or the end)
They / need / some help with the homework / usually
 
several times a year / My car / breaks down
 
Place it in mid-position (not at the end)
I / in green? / always / Can / dress
 
listen / can / never / They
 
Total number of items: 30
This is an activity from Multimedia-English www.multimedia-english.com
 

FREQUENCY ADVERBS

These adverbs answer the question: How often?
Here is a list ordered from more to less frequency (percentages are approximative)

ALWAYS (100%)
FREQUENTLY (90%)
USUALLY (85%)      = generally, normally
OFTEN (75%)
SOMETIMES (50%)      = now and then
OCCASIONALLY (35%)
SELDOM (25%)
RARELY (10%)
HARDLY EVER (5%)
NEVER (0%)

Word order:

One-word adverbs

Before normal verbs (the rest)
- I OFTEN go to the cinema
- He RARELY watches television
After special verbs (to be, have, do, can, will, etc.)
- I am ALWAYS here
- you can NEVER speak fast o
exceptions:
- I HARDLY EVER watch football on TV
- Tim ALMOST NEVER eats pudding
Notice: Some of these can use VERY (with the same position).
- I VERY OFTEN eat potatoes
- We VERY RARELY go to the beach

Two words or more

At the end of the sentence
- I go to the cinema TWICE A MONTH
- He works in the mornings EVERY OTHER DAY (= every two days)
- He watches football DAY IN, DAY OUT (= every day, every single day)
- We go hiking SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR (= a few times every year)

How many times?
Once = x1
Twice = x2
Three times = x3
Four times, etc. = x4

These frequency phrases usually go at the end:
- You have to ring the bell twice
- I go to the cinema once a month
- Tim goes to school three times a week